The present invention relates to disposable absorbent articles such as disposable diapers and, more particularly to clothlike, breathable backsheets printed with multicolored graphics for use with such disposable absorbent articles.
Infants and other incontinent individuals wear disposable absorbent articles such as diapers to receive and contain urine and other body exudates. Absorbent articles function both to contain the discharged materials and to isolate these materials from the body of the wearer and from the wearer""s garments and bed clothing. Disposable absorbent articles having many different basic designs are known in the art.
In the manufacture of disposable absorbent articles, such as diapers, microporous polymer films have generally been incorporated into the structure of the article as a part of the layers that are positioned away from the wearer""s body during use (often called xe2x80x9cthe backsheetxe2x80x9d). The backsheet provides a liquid impervious barrier so that exudates absorbed and contained in the absorbent core of the article are prevented from leaking, and particularly so that urine stains outside the diaper are prevented.
Some disposable diapers are provided with backsheets that provide the appearance of cloth and a cloth-like feel on the outside of the garment such that wearers and care-givers perceive a garment-like comfort. A typical structure of such a cloth-like backsheet comprises a nonwoven web joined to the outer-facing surface of a microporous thin plastic film to form a laminate.
For disposable absorbent articles, especially disposable diapers, it is also desirable to provide graphic designs on the articles to enhance their appearance and their consumer appeal. In previously known articles, the nonwoven layers have typically been printed with such graphic designs. This is because the printing process for nonwoven materials is typically easy to control, because the surfaces of such materials tend to provide stronger mechanical properties that make them more amenable to printing. However, high resolution, multi-colored graphics, which are consumer-preferred, usually cannot be printed on such materials. Thus the quality of the graphics that can be printed upon nonwoven materials is typically much lower than that which can be achieved by printing upon microporous films.
Microporous polymer films provide excellent surface characteristics that make them suitable for the printing of high resolution graphics. However, the existing microporous polymer films, see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent App. (Kokai) No. 9-25372, may not be mechanically stable enough to support the printing of the high resolution, multi-colored graphics that are consumer-preferred. This is due in part to their thermal instability, which has generally made it difficult to exploit their ability to support the application of high resolution multi-color graphics.
It has also been found that a high degree of whiteness, i.e., the visual appearance of the white color of the article as seen by the consumer, is very important to the consumer. Consumers tend not to accept articles that incorporate films having a yellowish or off-white shade. In addition, breathability, the ability of the article to allow water vapor to escape, is important for wearer comfort and for consumer skincare acceptance. A lack of breathability may result in a hot, stuffy, skin-unfriendly product for the wearer.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for disposable absorbent articles comprising a cloth-like breathable backsheet having a film layer printed With multi-colored graphics. None of the existing absorbent articles provide all of the advantages and benefits of the present invention.
The present invention is directed to a disposable absorbent article comprising a topsheet, a backsheet and an absorbent layer between the topsheet and the backsheet, wherein the backsheet is comprised of a microporous polymer film printed with multicolored graphics and a nonwoven material laminated to the film, wherein the film has a xe2x80x9cbxe2x80x9d value between about 0.0 and about 0.5 and exhibits less than about 4.0% thermal shrinkage at about 50xc2x0 C. and about 50% relative humidity for one week.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the invention will become evident to those skilled in the art from a reading of the present disclosure.